


Feather

by viraseii



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Arguing, Broken Bones, Dark Magic, Disappearances, Injury, M/M, Magic, Turning people into birds, but its kagehina lol what do you expect, i never thought that was a rag I'd use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-19 22:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8226161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viraseii/pseuds/viraseii
Summary: Hinata gets turned into a birb





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I mean ok I just thought Kageyama having to take care of a bird would be hilarious and then my trashy kagehina mind was like "but what if hinata"

Kageyama's really mad.

Hinata is skipping practice.

And Kageyama is really mad, because what a god damn dumbass.

"Have you heard from Hinata, Kageyama?" Suga asks him.

"No," Kageyama huffs.

"I haven't seen him all day," Yachi says anxiously. "Do you think he's okay? He's never missed practice before. Remember when he came here with a fever?"

"That's true," Asahi says. "Hinata is really committed."

"Well, it's times like these good senpais like myself need to step up!" Tanaka says proudly, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

"Hm," Nishinoya agrees. "It's probably some life-or-death situation if he's really not here. Whatever, we'll find him either in the afterlife or in practice tomorrow. Let's play!" He claps his hands together.

"If he doesn't show up, I'll kick his ass," Kageyama scowls. Truthfully, the room is duller without Hinata to push his buttons. They separate into two teams to play each other, but Kageyama realizes playing volleyball without Hinata feels... ridiculous. It's like playing a joke. What's the point if he can't set to a spiker faster than the eye can see, who'll slam his ball to the ground, who'll augment his speed and force and pinpoint it, so his enemies won't even have time to blink before he's won the game... yeah, he's played without Hinata before, and he doesn't _need_ him, quite the opposite. But it's nice to use his own power to the fullest, and he can't do it without Hinata. It's like shooting metal bullets out of a paper barrel.

Then he becomes aware of a weird background noise and glances up at the pole supporting the left side of the net. There's a small black bird perched on the rubber-capped top. Kageyama remembers it flying in screeching before they'd been about to change. _It's still here??_

"Are we going to do anything about that?" Ennoshita asks.

"Well, I mean, it's not flying around, so I guess it can stay and watch or whatever," Tanaka says, amused. The bird puffs out its feathers and jumps up and down a couple times.

Kageyama ignores it for most of the rest of practice. Nishinoya and Asahi feed it bread and water during their break, and it seems happy enough at the attention. At some point it starts scampering around the volleyballs lying on the floor, and Kageyama's genuinely concerned that it's going to hurt its dumb self. He wonders what Hinata would do if he were here - instead of skipping practice like a _fucking dumbass_. He imagines Hinata would be probably able to coax the thing into his hand, so he goes over to Nishinoya at some point and holds out his hand palm up, just to try it.

"He's not gonna come," Nishinoya declares. "He's too shy." The bird, to their surprise, scampers up to Kageyama and stands on his forearm.

"How do you know it's a boy?" Kageyama says, feeling rather accomplished. The bird's feet are harsh and rough and scratch against his arm. "I say it's a girl."

The bird lets out a shrill crow before flying up at Kageyama and smacking him in the face with its tail. "Nice," Tsukki comments.

"What the hell!" Kageyama tries to smack it away, but it flits out of reach.

"Whoa, cool, he understands Japanese!" Nishinoya says loudly.

"Really?" Suga says in bewilderment from the adjacent wall.

"Hello," Asahi says, and the bird chirps back. Kageyama glares at it, and it lets out some vaguely frightened noise and lands on Nishinoya's shoulder.

"You can understand us?" Tanaka says, bounding over. The bird chirps and bobs its head up and down. "So cool.."

Yamaguchi's there too, with a grin on his face. "Do you like volleyball?"

"It's a bird, it can't like volleyball," Tsukki says dully. The bird nods its head otherwise. Tsukki raises his eyebrows. "It probably can't even actually understand you."

The bird - Kageyama didn't know birds could do this - actually _hisses_ at Tsukkishima.

"Look, even mother nature knows you're a bastard," Kageyama flatlines, and Tanaka snorts.

"It's kind of ironic," Daichi says. "Because this bird is a crow. A juvenile, I guess?"

Kageyama notices, for some reason, the absence of sound that is supposed to be filled with Hinata's awestruck "Oooooooooh!!!" The crow in question spreads one wing and turns to peer at its own slick black feathers, as if it's suddenly becoming self-aware, and then makes an exaggerated motion with its head as if it's rolling its eyes before plopping down so it's seated comfortably on Nishinoya's shoulder.

"Do you know anything about Hinata?" is the next stupid question. This one comes from Nishinoya.

"What are you-" Kageyama is interrupted by a chorus of excited chirping. His eyes slide to the bird and he swears it's _deranged_ , because it's bouncing up and down urgently on Noya's shoulders and flapping its wings.

"Wow, I wish we could understand what he's saying!" Tanaka says. Then he roars with laughter. "It's okay, he's still entertaining."

Kageyama decides the bird is just _weird_ , and leaves the group as everyone continues to fuss over it.

* * *

Unfortunately, the bird seems to like Kageyama best. It stays with them throughout all of practice. For the first time, Kageyama finds himself departing at the same time as the others instead of practicing with Hinata after hours, which for some reason he misses bitterly. It puts him in a rather melancholy mood, so he's sulking and angrily punching the code for milk into the vending machine when more of the thing's unholy chirping makes him glance up.

"Hey, Kageyama!" Nishinoya calls from 30 meters away. "I think he likes you! Take good care of him!"

".... Yeah," Kageyama says back, because Nishinoya is older than him - then he turns to the bird. "I despise you," he hisses. It's a new word he's recently added to his vocabulary.

For some reason, this sends the crow into a disgustingly happy frenzy of twittering. Kageyama angrily sips his milk.

He waves bye to his teammates after they've all eaten, doing his best to ignore the bird until it lands on his shoulder. He pushes it off at first, but then it just hits him with its tail again, so he eventually gives up, feeling stupid. It's pointless - the idiot crow seems intent on making a nest out of Kageyama's shoulder. Whatever.

Actually, it's not so bad. It doesn't make any more irritating noises, and it's pretty warm and not very heavy. At some point during the walk home, Kageyama starts to be able to feel its heartbeat - it's something like three times faster than his own.

When Kageyama gets home, he switches on the news. The bird flaps to the tv and stands in front of it, watching intently before _changing the channel._ Kageyama sets his bag on the table. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he groans. "Are you even real? You're freaking me out." Wow. Now he's talking to a bird.

It squawks once in response and hops closer to the tv. Kageyama squints his eyes before looking up to see what's on - it's a different news channel, giving reports about recent disappearances.

It's the third name down that catches his eye and steals his breath. _Hinata Shouyou._ He moves closer, worry prickling at his gut, and turns up the volume.

The disappearances aren't a new thing. There are usually a few every week, and it's concerning, of course, but suddenly Kageyama wishes he'd kept himself more up-to-date on the news. It's long since disappeared from the topics people talk about at school, and he isn't the kind of person who socializes much so he can't really be the one to bring it up again - not that he's ever wanted to until now.

The newscast switches to some other story, and he draws in a breath before turning and rushing to his computer.

The bird follows him. By the time it sits down on the desk next to his arms, he's already searched up Hinata's name and he's scrolling through news stories from yesterday and today. All they're doing is adding Hinata to the long list of names; none of them provide much detail. He's about to look up some of the people from earlier in the list when the bird flies into the air and lands next to his keyboard. It jumps to different keys, adding the words _I am_ to the search query _Hinata Shouyou._

Kageyama's head spins. "Oi," he says tiredly. "I don't know what the hell you are, but you're not funny," he scowls. The crow puffs up and starts typing _B-A-K-A-G-E-_ Kageyama pushes it away from the keyboard. "I get it!" Maybe it's a robot.

He stands and stares at the bird. The bird looks back at him, tilting its head. He groans inside and turns to his bed, flopping down and instinctually gripping his volleyball where it lies nearby. Without really thinking, he starts tossing it up straight in the air like he always does when his thoughts are racing too fast to let him fall asleep. Then the fucking bird flits into his field of view and he glares before trying his best to hit it - it flies easily away from the ball, which unfortunately zooms out of immediate reach. Kageyama glares at it and turns on his side. Maybe he'll nap for an hour and wake up with a clearer mind. And it'll turn out the crow isn't actually there, and that Hinata isn't actually missing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls comment lol they make me happy


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More magics and stuff

Kageyama wakes to the sound of the bird's cawing. It's been only half an hour, and crows do _not_ sound pretty. He sits up in bed, glaring. "Shut up!" he yells. The bird screeches at him from the top of his computer screen. He squints at the words on the open document.

 _turnd 2 a bird, long story, typng hard w/o hand, u suk_ is printed on it.

Kageyama grits his teeth and takes a second to process this. Today is the worst Monday he's ever had. Okay. Maybe he'll humor the bird robot for a while. "Hinata went missing yesterday," he says. The bird shakes its head. "Day before yesterday." Shakes its head. "Friday." The bird nods. "That's such a lie, I practiced with Hinata on Friday. We stayed late." The bird nods again, lifting off the computer and flittering over to land on the blanket over Kageyama's knee. "You're a very convincing robot," he says distastefully. The bird caws at him angrily.

He's trying really hard not to believe it, but it's kind of impossible not to at this point. Except.

"Magic is real." The bird nods.

Wow.

Okay.

"The only reason I believe you is because you're just as annoying as him," Kageyama says. The bird tilts its head at him and closes its eyes, chirping. "No one would be that happy if they were turned into a damn bird," he mutters. To this, the crow lowers its head and releases some mournful sound. Kageyama tries to think this through logically, although he's never been any good at that. The bird can understand language. The bird can communicate. The bird has a heartbeat. The bird seems to be fine with Kageyama, which is odd because Kageyama usually feels like animals don't like him very much. It even came home with him - "Why did you come home with me?" he says out loud.

The bird looks up at him and opens and closes its beak a few times.

"Yes or no questions, okay. You chose to come home with me." A nod. "Your parents dislike birds." No. "What, did you think _I_ liked birds?" No. "Then why??" It's pointless. The bird isn't going to be able to give him any kind of complex answer. He gets out of bed to go find something to eat.

* * *

Hands suddenly grab Kageyama's right arm, messing up the kanji he's been practicing. "I'm hungry." The voice is gasping in his ear. He reels backwards, his heartbeat skyrocketing, to see _Hinata_ stumbling against his wall, complexion pallid. There are tears in his eyes.

Kageyama stares, trying to calm his breathing down. " _Hinata???_ "

"Please," Hinata mumbles, before collapsing. Kageyama's mind reels, panic on the edges of every thought, trying to understand. The bird. The bird is gone. Hinata is in his house, in his room, practically dead. Hinata opens his eyes and slides them over to make eye contact with Kageyama. "I'm _hungry!!!_ "

If Hinata dies, it will be terrible for the team. Kageyama backs out of his room and grabs a bag from his kitchen counter, which has two rice balls left in it. He goes back and hands them to Hinata, who tears them open and devours them, not saying a single word. "How did you get here?" Kageyama demands. "Why weren't you at practice? _Why was your name in the news??_ "

Hinata wipes his mouth. "Give me water first." Kageyama swears and brings him a glass. After draining it, Hinata says, "I _was_ at practice!! I told you, I was a bird!"

"What?? You expect me to believe that?" Kageyama has absolutely zero idea what's happening right now.

Then Hinata starts crying.

"Oi."

Hinata keeps crying, and something inside Kageyama hurts at the sight. He steps forward awkwardly, kneeling down in front of Hinata.

"Oi." Hinata still doesn't open his eyes, so Kageyama reaches out and pulls him into his arms. Hinata's arms wrap around Kageyama, returning the embrace tightly.

"I was on my way home after practice, right?" Hinata mumbles in a suprisingly steady voice, as Kageyama sits there awkwardly wondering if he should let go yet or what. "And I was biking when I had to swerve to avoid this lady. She just kind of stared at me for a second, but then my bike stopped and I fell off. And she came to me, and I said I was really sorry, and she started really getting angry, like you."

"Hey," Kageyama says, pushing Hinata away.

He's not crying anymore, but he stares at the floor. "And then she pointed at me and said something weird and then I was small and feathery and it was terrifying. So I flew away from her while she turned away from me. I didn't go to my own house because I don't want my sister and my parents to have to figure this stuff out. You're like my partner, so I thought I'd trust you next. And I haven't had a full meal in _3 days_ , Kageyama, I'm going to _die_."

"You're... not a bird, though," Kageyama says. Maybe this lady is also the cause of all the other disappearances.

Hinata laughs and punches him in the arm. "I don't really know why, but it doesn't work at twilight. Only for like fifteen minutes though." Then he tips back his head and groans. "The worst part about this is _I can't play volleyball_. That's the worst part!!! Also, Noya-san is a lot gentler than you."

"What??" Heat rises to Kageyama's face. Hinata grins at him, before suddenly his skin starts spilling shadows. Kageyama scrambles away as he disappears in a writhing mass of darkness, which fades into the tiny figure of a young crow. Hinata hops up and down, full of too much energy for his tiny body. He flies up and lands on Kageyama's forearm, and Kageyama feels a twinge of sympathy. Being turned into a bird, not being able to play... it's unimaginable. He absently uses the back of his finger to rub the feathers on Hinata's cheek.

 _Noya-san is a lot gentler than you._ To hell with that. Kageyama is going to be the gentlest he's ever been in his entire life.

Hinata caws at him.

"Stop that, it's annoying."

* * *

"How are you going to become human again, then?" he mutters while staring at the homework on his desk. Hinata shakes his head. "We need you to play, idiot, what did you think you were doing, turning into a bird like that?" he starts to write something on the paper. Better wrong answers than missing ones anyway.

Hinata lets out a negative screech. Obviously this wasn't his choice or anything. Kageyama leans back, away from the sheet, and stares at Hinata before reaching out with one finger and rubbing the back of it against the feathers on his cheek.

This is the most ridiculous situation he's ever been in.

* * *

Hinata gets a lot of attention in his classroom. The teacher opens all the windows, hoping he'll fly out, but he apparently has no intention of doing that judging by how he just sits at the edge of Kageyama's desk and gazes around. People keep coming up to him and asking him questions about it.

When they get to Volleyball practice, Kageyama's met with surprise and bursts of laughter from Tanaka. "Hey!! How'd it go taking care of the bird? Thought it would have flown off by now," he laughs.

Kageyama glares at Hinata as he chirps at Tanaka from his shoulder. "Horrible," he answers, shrugging him off. Hinata flies up to his perch from yesterday.

"Did you hear??" Yachi says from across the gym, running over. Her eyes are moist and anxious. "Hinata's gone missing!"

"Yeah," Daichi says, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's really sad and unfortunate."

"I hope he's okay," Yachi says.

"So I was _right_ ," Nishinoya mutters. "Wow. I didn't mean it _literally_ when I said we'll meet him in the afterlife."

Kageyama glares up at Hinata. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he hisses as the team continues to stress. Yamaguchi shoots him a funny look, probably wondering why he's talking to a bird.

Hinata sits and watches all practice again. Kageyama is really scared that maybe Hinata will stay this way forever, and if he ever wants to use their quick they're going to have to play fifteen minutes per day. Matches would go on for _weeks_. He's so preoccupied that he doesn't win a single set against the other half of his team. They read his every movement, and on top of that, apparently Hinata can too because he won't stop _screeching,_ god, he's going to strangle him tonight.

Ukai talks to him during break.

"Kageyama," he starts. "I know it must be difficult to process that Hinata has disappeared. I can see it in your movements. But you, as one of our most focused players, can not afford to let your thoughts wander. There's nothing that can be done about the situation, and what's most important in the moment is to keep improving."

"Right," Kageyama says. But he can even admit it to himself - he is _not_ playing at his full ability. He can't _help_ it! His spiker is a god damn bird!

He tries to do what Ukai asked anyway, though.

* * *

He's walking home when someone crashes into him from behind. They mutter something and then push past him running, black fabric fluttering behind them, and he glares at their back as he regains his balance. He keeps getting jumped from behind. It's this thought that brings him to realize that Hinata isn't sitting on his shoulder like he was twenty seconds ago. He squints at the figure hurrying away, registering for the first time that there's a crow's screeching growing fainter and fainter.

He doesn't stop to think this through.

He just takes off after the figure.

He catches up to them quickly, grabbing their upper arm and wrenching them back. His other hand wraps around the wrist of the hand that holds Hinata so tightly that Kageyama's worried the few brains Hinata has are just going to pop out and go rolling down the street.

"I'm trying to help!" Kageyama can't tell if the speaker is a girl or a boy. Their face is hidden beneath their hood. He doesn't know what to say in response.

"Why are you stealing my bird?" comes out.

The stranger makes some garbled, frustrated noise, and then the landscape dissolves into cool mist. When Kageyama blinks and opens his eyes, he's in a warm homely room that's as big as, like, his entire house. There are birds flying around of every variety imaginable, and the air smells like candles and linen. They wrench their arm out of Kageyama's grasp and walk brusquely past him to a strange area in the middle of the closest wall comprised of bottles, jars, appliances, pots, animals in cages, and other things Kageyama can't make sense of all stacked on top of each other on brown and gold granite countertops. Once he drinks the chaos of the room in, he follows them numbly.

"What are you doing?" he mutters. He's confused, and his heartbeat won't slow down. He doesn't know what to do here.

They lift their hood from their face, revealing features young enough for them to be mistaken as a high schooler - yet Kageyama _still_ can't tell if they're a boy or a girl. Their dark eyes glint, somehow the brightest thing he can see despite the candlelight blazing from the hundreds of chandeliers looming over him.

They set Hinata on the countertop none too gently.

"I'm going to kill my nemesis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had a plan for this in the beginning but idk what I'm doing anymore
> 
> still four chapters left though
> 
> have fun in this creepy witch's house Kags


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!! I was focusing on updating my homestuck fic Born to Abide, Forced to Oppose, as I hadn't updated it in like a month. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Twilight comes with chaos. Kageyama's been sitting on the sofa, trying to figure out if there's anything he can _do._ He doesn't want to leave knowing Hinata is here, and he doubts whoever-it-is will let him, anyway. He's already walked around the entire room. There are no windows or doors except for those that lead into other rooms. The birds flying around are giving him a headache.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"Doesn't matter to you."

"What do I call you?"

"No one."

Okay. _No One_ keeps doing things in their small counter-top area, with glowing things and metal things and different birds. They have maps tacked up on the wall behind them, a map of the world, of Japan, one of his prefecture. There are glowing dots hovering over different locations, and sometimes they move. At some point he sees _No One_ turn around and put their fingers together, and when they slowly pull them apart there's a ball of blue light swirling in the center. They touch it to the map and it stays there, melting into the paper and forming another bright white-blue glowing splotch.

He is so lost.

"We're about to have company," they say, opening all the birdcages on the countertops with a flick of their hand. Kageyama stands. He wishes he had a watch.

In a few seconds, the room darkens as every bird changes form, growing arms, legs, faces of so many people Kageyama doesn't recognize. His eyes widen. So many. Where's Hinata?

The room is suddenly milling with people. He wonders if he should call out Hinata's name, but everyone's talking and he can't see past everyone around him. It feels like the school hallway between classes. He doesn't know how he feels - but he's definitely concerned. He bets everyone on the lists of disappearances is in this room. Why??

 _No One_ walks out of the crowd to come meet him. "Do you think this is strange?" they say.

"...Yeah?" Is this supposed to _not_ be strange?

"My enemy is turning people into birds, but she's stupid and her spells mess up whenever there's no direct sunlight or moonlight around."

"Okay."

 _No One_ tilts their head. "Okay. Go find your friend. I don't know where he is." Then they turn around and disappear into the throng again.

Kageyama stares for a couple seconds before plunging into the crowd to find Hinata. They'd put Hinata inside the cage with all the other crows! _I don't know where he is_?? Did they seriously not remember?

Hinata's sitting on the counter, with some dark red haired girl tying a bandage around his arm. Kageyama's heart drops into his shoes like a rock. He _knew_ they were holding Hinata too tight. Hinata flashes a smile at the girl as she finishes the knot, and Kageyema's temper flares.

"What are you smiling for, dumbass?" he demands, and both look up at him. "That's your right arm. You have an injury! You're smiling? How do we get out of this place? How are you going to play?" He's panicking.

Hinata's face colors and he looks at the floor to Kageyama's left. "I don't know." _???????_

Kageyama pushes forward, grabbing Hinata's shoulders, heart beating a million miles a minute. Hinata winces, and Kageyama removes his right hand, staring dumbfounded at the bundle of white that's hanging from around his neck. This is... happening?? How can it?? Ice crawls over every centimeter of his skin.

"Stupid!" he yells, shoving Hinata's left shoulder and backing into the opposite countertop. No! "Do you know what this even means?"

"I know!" Hinata yells back. The people around them turn to stare or back away - Kageyama doesn't care. This is impossible. "You think I'm not as upset as you? It's _my arm!"_

No! "What are you thinking?" he roars.

"You think this was my choice? You think I like hopping around on tiny bird legs all day? You think I'm enjoying having a messed up arm? Do you even know how many bones are in a wing? It hurts! Being able to spike a ball is not the first thing occupying my mind right now!" Hinata's face isn't red because he's embarrassed or mad. It's because he's in _pain._

NO!!! "I think there _are_ some things you're enjoying! Like drinking from Yachi's water bottle today!"

" _How does Yachi-San have anything to do with this??_ "

 _I don't know!_ Kageyama wants to yell. _I miss you!_ His chest hurts, he thinks something is tying to jump out. Maybe it's the contents of his stomach. "Fifteen minutes is not enough!"

Hinata throws up one hand. "You're not even making any sense anymore!"

Someone claps their hand on Kageyama's left shoulder from behind. Again. God damn it.

"I actually do know a way out." It's the girl from before who was wrapping Hinata's arm. Kageyama glares at her. He should have been the one doing it. Who even _was_ she?? "I'll show you tonight. Keep us with you."

"Huh??" Kageyama looks away from her and at Hinata, who's glaring at Kageyama. It's okay. It'll be okay. There's a way out. "Keep you with me? Okay. Why can't we just go now?"

"Because it will let the witch know. They like to sleep though. If someone leaves in the middle of the day they'll follow them, but if someone leaves in the middle of the night they'll be too lazy to get out of bed. I've seen it happen." The girl is looking at Hinata, who's still glaring right back at Kageyama. But when Hinata removes his eyes and looks at the girl with that kindness and gratitude in his expression, it's almost _worse._

"Stop being so positive!" he yells, pointing at Hinata. Annoyance streaks across Hinata's face again.

"Why are the two setters from the same team so different! You're terrible!"

"You _broke_ your _arm._ "

That's what makes it sink in for Kageyama, finally. Hinata broke his arm. Hinata broke his arm. He's suddenly so scared. What if Hinata will never play again? What if the arm has to be amputated? Hinata hasn't even reached his full potential yet. To think that Hinata would be taken away from him by this injury before they even got the chance to play together for a full year?? He finally found someone to match his tosses!! He finally found someone who viewed him on _equal terms_ , instead of being intimidated like almost everyone else. No one could take this away from him! It - It wasn't _fair._ Kageyama grits his teeth, grinding them back and forth, trying not to - trying not to _cry_.

This amuses Hinata, anger temporarily forgotten. "Kageyama-kun, are you _crying?"_

"I'll break your other arm, you dumbass," Kageyama says, defeated. He sinks against the countertop.

Then _No One_ pushes their way to the counter. They shove aside some bottles, their face glowing. Kageyama stares.

"Found it, found it, found it," they're muttering over and over again, glee and exhilaration in their voice. It's the exact _opposite_ of how _he's_ feeling.

Then they take out a strange circular object, like a coin trapped in a ring, turn the center, and all his surroundings melt away.

He falls to the cold forest ground as the counter he'd been leaning on disappears, hearing Hinata do the same as well and gaining some satisfaction from that. The darkness is all consuming. His eyes aren't adjusted yet.

"Kageyama!" he hears, and he scrambles up, looking wildly from side to side in the darkness. Hinata's getting to his feet too, and they turn together to find _No One._

Hinata gasps suddenly, and Kageyama turns wildly to look at him in time to see a bright flash of light hit him in the back. He follows the source to a lady dressed in dark robes before ducking as she fires more light in their direction.

Hinata grabs his arm and pulls him all the way to the ground. "That's her," he whispers urgently in Kageyama's ear. Kageyama glances up at her - light is shooting out of her fingers in the direction of _No One_ , who's returning fire. Both are laughing.

"It's been over nine thousand years!" _No One_ calls gleefully. "I missed this!"

The other lady's dark hair whips and billows in the harsh wind that picks up. "You missed dying every few seconds?" her smile is malicious. She turns and ducks, gathering up a massive ball of energy and light before flinging it at _No One_.

Kageyama's eyes widen as _No One_ is engulfed in orange and white. When the light dies away, there's nothing but ashes in the shape of them, face annoyed. He looks back at the other witch, her eyes glowing bright green.

"Waiting for you to respawn, darling," she crows into the air. Then she frowns at the people around her. Almost everyone is cowering on the ground. "Why aren't you birds?" she hisses.

"Because you suck." It's _No One's_ voice, coming from the left. The girl witch suddenly collapses as purple lightning crackles all over her body, before she dissolves into purple beetles.

"I'm fixing that arm out of spite," _No One_ declares, pointing at Hinata. Kageyama's suddenly thrown off of his spiker as Hinata floats up, surrounded in a bubble of red energy. The cloth around Hinata's arm unravels. Then Hinata suddenly arches his back as his entire arm splits open into a billion tiny cubes, before they suddenly smash back together with a sound like shattering glass coupled with splashing jello and the bubble disappears, dumping Hinata unceremoniously on the ground.

Hinata's gasping, clenching and unclenching his fingers. For Kageyama, it feels like he's just been through a blizzard and now everything's melted away, leaving the world fresh and new and a sight for sore eyes. His chest sinks in on itself in his relief. "Hinata," he sighs, closing his eyes and leaning back. The sounds of dueling resume again.

"I'm breaking everyone's arm out of spite!"

"Ha! You won't get the chance."

"I'm breaking _your_ arm out of spite."

"I'm turning everyone permanently human out of spite."

These next words are accompanied by a rush of air, as if the entire forest has blown out a breath. Kageyama opens his eyes, seeing nothing but webs of peach light at first, and then suddenly it's dark again. Kageyama lifts himself up on his elbows, seeing people rushing through the trees, running away from the scene. The dark red haired girl isn't with them anymore. Hinata grabs his arm, pulling him up, and they start running.

"I'm spawning somewhere else, find me if you can, witch," _No One_ screeches, before light hits them and they disappear. The girl witch bellows in rage.

"Run faster, Bakageyama!" Hinata demands, sprinting through the woods. Kageyama twists the same ankle twice in a row. He wonders if Hinata and him sound like that when they fight.

"I don't understand what just happened."

"Me neither! Just run!"

"We're lost, dumbass."

"Kageyama, _please_."

Kageyama picks up the pace, and they're flying through the trees, stumbling through undergrowth and tree roots, branches snagging their clothes and hair, scratching up their arms and legs and faces. He refuses to let go of Hinata's hand. Never again. He never wants to think about ever losing Hinata again, in any way, shape, or form, never. Ever. Never. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically the rivalry between chaotic evil and chaotic neutral tbh
> 
>  
> 
> Hope y'all are still enjoying and reading :)) I'll try to get the last chapter soon. Soon as in, it could be a week, it could be a month. LOVE YOU GUYS :))))))
> 
> Actually i'm a little concerned that maybe this chapter isn't as good as I hoped it would turn out to be. I mean, the plot at least is definitely completely different than how I originally planned but hey I guess letting the story write itself is another part of being an author but ok yeah i'll stop rambling HAVE AN AMAZING DAY/NIGHT EVERYONE


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be totally honest i 100% thought I posted this already so if you hate me I'm so sorry

They run until they find a small lake. The water is still and cold, and Kageyama immediately kneels down and splashes some on his face, sucking in lungful upon lungful of midnight. Hinata looks wildly around before stretching out his arm again and flexing his fingers.

"It's fine?" Kageyama checks, staring at Hinata's arm. Hinata nods.

"It was so weird. I could feel it as she did that, you know? It felt... uncomfortable." He drops his arm and looks out at the lake.

Kageyama leans back, sitting on the ground and catching his breath. "Are we safe here?"

Hinata shakes his head. "I guess so? Also, I guess, whatever they did worked because I haven't turned into a bird again."

Kageyama closes his eyes, leaning back even further so his back is flat on the ground. "Thank god."

Hinata looks up at the sky. "Of course, I think today's a new moon night, so it could just be that?"

This sends a spike of worry through Kageyama. He sits up, furrowing his eyebrows in concern, looking up at Hinata's figure. He looks alone and small, standing against the starlit sky, trees and water behind him and wind pushing his clothes to his skin. He's still in his school uniform, probably from last Friday - Kageyama hadn't noticed before.

"Are you... okay?" Kageyama asks cautiously. He hopes that this isn't a weird moment to say that or anything.

Hinata nods, slowly. "I'm actually really hungry. And... I was really, really, really scared I'd never be able to play volleyball again." Then he turns and points to Kageyama, smirking. "You suck! You suck without me! I saw you on the court!"

Kageyama straightens, suddenly scowling. "I told you, you're our best decoy! How can we score good points without that??"

Hinata just grins and puts his fists on his hips, puffing out his chest. "I guess I'll be the ace in no time, if this is how dependent you are."

"You're still not a regular without me," Kageyama flatlines, and Hinata keeps his smile, but there's something that snaps in his expression.

Then he shakes it off and sits down next to Kageyama. "I will be, soon, though. And then I'll be Karasuno's ace, just like the little giant." He turns his head to look up at Kageyama. "By the way, what was all this?" he asks, grinning, reaching up to rub the back of his hand against Kageyama's cheek.

Kageyama leans his head away and bats Hinata's hand out of his face. "I don't know," he grumbles. "You were a bird."

Hinata squeezes his eyes closed as he smiles, reaching up to grip Kageyama's face, brushing his thumbs over Kageyama's cheekbones.

"Stop it," Kageyama complains, pushing him away. Hinata laughs.

And then Kageyama can't help it. He smiles. He's _so relieved_ that Hinata's back. Even when he was trying to do other things, it'd haunted him: he'd been so damn scared he wouldn't get to play with Hinata again. He's already thinking about the ball, flying from his fingertips, zooming toward Hinata because he's there, he's there, 'I'm here!', Hinata is here because he is back and Kageyama doesn't have to worry so much anymore.

He reaches forward and wraps Hinata's shirt up in his fingers, leaning close. "I don't care if it was on purpose or not," he mumbles. "Don't leave us again."

Hinata cocks his head to the side. "Don't leave you again, you mean," he says cheerfully, smiling.

"Dumbass, it's not about me! The... The team needs you too."

"You said 'too'."

Kageyama stares blankly, dropping his hands.

Hinata sighs, "it's okay to want to spend time with someone, you know, Bakageyama. That's how you make friends. It may be unfamiliar to you-"

"Hmph." Kageyama frowns and jerks his head to look away from Hinata. Okay, that's all well and good, but what's not okay is how it's not _just_ that Kageyama wants to spend time with Hinata. That's not it. He does want to spend time with Hinata - but _alone_. He doesn't want the team there. He wants him all to himself because... He knows. He doesn't want it to be true, though.

"Anyway, I'm itching and itching to play. Do you know where we are?" Hinata's saying.

"No." Kageyama turns back to face Hinata, shifting so he's kind of sitting on his side. "I don't think I live anywhere near here."

"I don't know, it could be close to my home, but I have no idea." Hinata's staring at Kageyama unwaveringly. "There's no one around, either, and I don't know if we should wait for daylight. I guess we could walk."

"Yeah," Kageyama mumbles, standing up.

Hinata jumps to his feet and begins walking at that pace that's just faster than Kageyama's, the one that infuriates him. He has such tiny legs, why does he move so fast?? "I missed you too, it's okay. It felt so weird to end volleyball practice so early, even if I wasn't practicing! Didn't you think so?"

"Yeah."

"It was funny watching you study, though. Class 3 really looks hard. How did you get in class 3, anyway? You're worse at English than even I am."

"Because I'm just better than you in general."

"What! That's not true. I bet if you were a bird, you would get so angry you'd have a heart attack, and that would be it for you."

"Why should I care who would make a better bird?? I'm smarter than you for not becoming one in the first place."

"I told you!" Hinata whines. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Yeah," Kageyama mutters. They keep chatting for a while.

After several minutes Hinata squints at the darkness. "I think the trees are thinning out." It takes a couple more minutes for them to find a road. They walk down it until they reach buildings and people, and Hinata drags Kageyama to the nearest store for food.

"I can't believe I still have to buy you food," Kageyama grumbles, fumbling for his money as Hinata orders meat buns. They probably won't taste like he's used to, but food is food, anyways. "You're not going to eat that much!"

"I will!!" Hinata insists, bouncing up and down as the woman behind the counter hands them their meal. He bounds over to a table and sits down, not even waiting.

Kageyama pays and follows him. "Did you get any for me, dumbass?" Hinata nods, sliding one over. "That's it?? I get more." They struggle over the meat buns for a while until Hinata gets four and Kageyama gets three. His stomach is completely empty.

They sit in silence and eat for a while. The road is quiet in comparison to how roads usually are in the day, and there's almost no one in the shop with them. Kageyama doesn't really understand how so much time could have passed - it feels like it was twilight not so long ago, but now it's like the middle of the night. He feels a twinge of sadness that he won't be alone with Hinata anymore. It's as if he's missed some kind of chance, somehow.

Hinata leans back in his chair once they've both finished. "Let's take the bus close to my house, I think I can find it from here."

"If you were on your way back from school, shouldn't you have your bag with you? Where is it??" Kageyama mutters. "You buy the bus tickets."

"It's at home, they found it and sent it to my address. Now come on, Stingyyama-Kun." Hinata stands and grabs Kageyama's arm, pulling him out of his seat. Kageyama hates this.

* * *

They both get down near Hinata's house. "Wouldn't it take like two hours to get to your house from here?" Hinata sighs.

"I'll jog," Kageyama shrugs. He hadn't actually given this much thought - it just felt kind of wrong to leave each other so soon. There's no one visible on either side of the street as the bus pulls away. "What are you going to tell your parents?" he asks.

Hinata furrows his brow, looking down and wrapping his chin in his fingers as he thinks about it. "I'll say you kidnapped me."

"Haah??" Kageyamam's annoyance flares up - they were having such a peaceful moment, too - but then Hinata gasps and grabs Kageyama's arm.

"Kageyama!" he shouts, staring at he ground. Kageyama tightens his fists, looking around and at where Hinata is staring, trying to figure out what the problem is. "...The moon," Hinata murmurs, and Kageyama sees the reflection in a puddle on the ground. It's a thin crescent, glowing bright in between two clouds. They glance up at the same time, staring at the moon. Then Hinata throws back his head and laughs, moving immediately to wrap Kageyama in a hug. Kageyama grins and hugs him back. He pulls back after a second, looking at Hinata's moonlit brown eyes.

Then, inexplicably, both of them move as one and connect lips. It's so sudden. He doesn't think - it just happens, and then he's pulling Hinata to his body because he is _never going to let him go again_ and this moment is enough to make up for every practice when Kageyama felt Hinata's absence like having no sun in summer. Hinata's fighting down a smile under his lips, and that's just so sweet, he can't help but to pull him closer. Hinata's warm and the night is cold and it's the best contrast, the best thing, the best moment, right here, right now. Air slips between to separate them for a few seconds as they catch their breaths, and when Hinata speaks his lips brush against Kageyama's with every syllable.

"That was kind of unexpected," he whispers, tilting his forehead forward so it leans against Kageyama's.

"Yeah," Kageyama agrees.

Hinata pushes forward again, stretching up on his toes as far as he can, both hands gripping the sides of Kageyama's head as they kiss and breathe and kiss. Every second they spend touching makes happiness settle deep in Kageyama's stomach.

Hinata's the one to pull away first. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kageyama," he laughs.

"You're leaving?" Kageyama complains.

Hinata laughs softly, kissing Kageyama one more time. "Yeah, it's cold, and dark, and late."

"But _I'm_ here."

"Yeah." Hinata bumps Kageyama's nose with his. " _Tomorrow,_ I promise!"

Kageyama smiles as they step apart, Hinata's cheeks flaring red. Hinata flashes him his sunburst of a smile one last time before turning and starting to jog away. Kageyama huffs out a breath and turns to get home, already anticipating all the things they'll do tomorrow after practice.

He's so happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all though! If you read this please comment :) I love you <3


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